The present invention relates to a new and distinct Bermudagrass plant. Bermudagrass (Cynodon spp. L. C. Rich) is one of the most important and widely used warm-season turfgrasses. It is adapted to the warm- and subtropical-climatic regions of the world. The turf-type Bermudagrasses are C4, perennials that originated in southeastern Africa. The common turf-type species of Cynodon include: Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. or dactylon Bermudagrass which is a tetraploid; and Cynodon transvaalensis (Burtt-Davy) or African Bermudagrass which is a diploid. The dactylon Bermudagrasses as a group are characterized by a relatively coarse leaf width and lower shoot density, while the hybrid bermudagrasses tend to have narrower leaf width and higher shoot density. Both are relatively low-growing via vigorous lateral stems, both rhizomes and stolons.
Putting greens in the warm, humid climatic regions of the United States are usually planted with Bermudagrass. Once, two Bermudagrass varieties dominated use on putting greens: ‘Tifgreen (328),’ released in 1956 and ‘Tifdwarf,’ released in 1965, but with the introduction of ‘Champion’ in the late 1990s, the group of grasses often referred to collectively as Ultradwarf Bermudagrasses have been the most widely used on greens for the last 10 years. These grasses include ‘Champion’ (PP 9,888), ‘Floradwarf’ (PP 9,030), ‘Mississippi Supreme’ (PP 11,781), ‘Tifeagle’ (PP 11,163), and ‘Minverde’ (PP 12,084).
There are six basic components of turfgrass quality: (a) uniformity, (b) density, (c) texture, (d) growth habit, (e) smoothness, and (f) color.
The expectations of today's golfers for fast, smooth putting greens have resulted in heights of cut which are significantly lower than they were in the past. A height of cut of ⅛″ was unheard of prior to the late 1980's, yet it is now commonplace. A modern putting green cultivar must be able to withstand this height of cut in order to be successful. While the Ultradwarf Bermudagrasses as a group do tolerate low greens heights, experience has shown that they can present unique challenges for the golf course manager because of their growth habit. The aspects of these grasses' growth habit which are problematic include: very high shoot density, lateral growth which is comprised almost entirely of stolons, and, shallow rooting, as shown by Table 1 below.
TABLE 1Shoots, roots, stolons, and rhizomesfor five Bermudagrasses*ShootsRootsStolonsRhizomesCultivar(No. in2)(mg)(mg)(mg)‘Champion’119 a 230 a910 4 b‘Floradwarf’80 bc 130 bc780 0 b‘Miniverde’120 a 220 a87016 b‘Tifeagle’92 b  100 c73018 b‘Tifdwarf’66 c 270 a780200 a *planted 15 Apr. 1997 at the Texas A&M University Turfgrass Field Laboratory in College Station, TX and sampled Aug. 26, 1997   
Some of the problems which have been associated with this growth habit include scalping, difficulty in moving water into the rootzone causing turf loss due to desiccation, severe disease outbreaks, difficulty in establishing and transitioning from overseeding, thatch accumulation, severe “grain” or “stem displaysia”, and lack of recuperative potential. Many courses have replaced some of these Ultradwarf varieties with other grasses after having significant difficulties managing them.
While it is important for a turfgrass selected for putting greens to possess the ability to withstand low greens heights, there has been a pronounced desire among golf course superintendents to have a cultivar with a growth habit which would allow it to tolerate low heights of cut while still responding to management practices which were successful on the older varieties ‘Tifdwarf’ and ‘Tifgreen (328).’